Over-estimating your experience or under-estimating the terrain in a place like Big Bend can result in serious injury or death. Use the information and advice found here wisely. Climb/Hike/Camp/Drive at your own risk.

Online Backcountry permitting now available for BBNP

One significant feature that this adds is that you can see what interest there is for specific sites. During hectic times like Spring Break, this would give you a heads-up on making contingency plans. No more eavesdropping on fellow campers while standing in line.

My recent experience 10/31/13 with the new system is a little different. We were anxiously waiting in line for a back country permit at 4:30, Panther Junction behind a really slow couple dealing with a really slow ranger. We're talking about "retirement home meets postoffice" slow - two-finger pecking at the keyboard and jumping around from window to window, looking for this and that pane, asking the others for help getting information entered.I'm tapping my foot, watching the clock with a 5:00 deadline approaching, thinking the "window closed" sign might come out before I make it up there. There were two other rangers killing time while this slow poke was killing me!I had my downloaded worksheet all nicely filled out and I was about to start waving it in the air when the ranger looked up (he must have finally noticed me about to pee on myself) and said, "If you have a smart phone, you can enter the information on the web site and save some time." DANG! I whistled my hiking friend off the displays and put him to work. He had it all entered by the time the slow train to nowhere shuffled off and we were registered two minutes of "ranger time." That's all I know about it.

Camping in any combination of front or back country campsites for more than 28 nights in a 12 month time period is prohibited. The 12 month time period is measured from July 1st through June 30th. Between February 1st and April 15th, only 14 nights in any combination of front or back country campsites is allowed.

Camping in any combination of front or back country campsites for more than 28 nights in a 12 month time period is prohibited. The 12 month time period is measured from July 1st through June 30th. Between February 1st and April 15th, only 14 nights in any combination of front or back country campsites is allowed.

It doesn't surprise me that bureaucrats seem to have the insatiable need to make more inane rules. The funny thing is, how would NPS monitor this. How about if I sign in with different names every time. It's all a waste of time and effort.........

Shame shame shame on them. NOT! I can't help but wonder why the overflow camping at RGV was shut down all those years ago, much less why it was created in the first place . . . fond memories of camping there away from the maddening crowd.

It allowed us to create a worksheet for the campsites we wanted (for Friday night) on Thursday morning.So I thought we were good to go....but when I arrived at the PJ visitor's center Friday at 9:00 am, my sheet had been purged overnight.the ranger said she did not know why it does that, but that is what had been happening.

Lucky for us we were there early and there were not many people requesting spots.But I could have wound up with a 3rd choice selection, or no place to camp if it were another time of the year.If I had known this, I could have re-created my worksheet from the hotel in Ft Stockton at 5 am Friday morning...

Creating a worksheet doesn't help you get a site. Even if you had created a new one that morning, someone could have gotten to a visitor center before you and gotten the site you wanted. It's still first come first serve.

I created my sheet at 7:05 am in the rest stop between Ft. Stockton & Marathon (there didn't used to be service there, had 3 bars this time). I was at PJ at 8:45 am so I was first in line. Had my permits and was out of the VC at 9:08 am. Worked like a champ for me, but YMMV.

So, let me get this straight... Instead of allowing backpackers coming from, say, 600 miles away to plan ahead and reserve backcountry campsites ahead of time (like every other national park I've ever visited), Big Bend rolls out this, uh, "online worksheet acceleration system" that does nothing more than get the paperwork started? Hmmm...

Here's a crazy thought: Why not join the 21st century and take reservations for campsites 3, 4 or 6 months in advance? That system seems to work pretty well for those other parks like Grand Canyon, Glacier, Yellowstone...seems like it would work for Big Bend.

Sorry, but this just seems so backward to me...I'm very underwhelmed. Not sure why I'd even bother to use it, frankly.